Good deal? 1985 190D 2.2 on ebay, 225kmiles

[MonsieurBon]

Hi all-

I'm in the market for a 190D with Airbag and ABS. There's one on ebay right now, a 1985 with 225,000 miles. Assuming a pre-purchase inspection goes well, what might I have to have fixed or replaced soon?

I am assuming that there are no maintenance records, since carfax shows this car being sold a couple times, once at auction. No collision history. Otherwise it looks great inside and out.

I have heard these are rather underpowered, what HP/torque do these put out? How heavy are they? I should expect something like 35-45 mpg, correct?

Anything else I should watch out for?

Thanks!
-Aaron

[MonsieurBon]

Hmmm...

I forgot to mention that carfax also shows no record of this car before 1995 and about 200,000 miles. What's up with that?

-Aaron

[Ken300D]

Depending on how patient you want to be, and if you want to put a little more money into a 190D - the later years have 5-cyl engines and I think 1987 is a turbo engine.

With respect to CarFax, there's probably a wide variety of reasons there are no early records. One of the more probable reasons is that the car has not changed hands much - which is a good thing I suppose. Plus it may be from a state that doesn't provide much in the way of records to the database CarFax buys.

So I'll let someone else with more specific experience speak to 190D issues.

Ken300D

[TimFreeh]

I agree with Ken, if you can wait hold out for an 86 or later 5 cylinder version. I had a 86 190D for 5 years and 125K miles and was very happy with it. The 5 cylinder non turbo is 90HP and I think the turbo is 120HP, I'm not sure what the rating for the OM601 version is but I would guess 60-70 HP.

My 190D with a 5 speed manual would routinely get 40+ MPG. The 201 chassis is quite a deal these days - seems like you can get a nice example for 2-3K.

[sixto]

You might give some thought to the likelihood that an airbag remains effective when it's 20 years old. Check the archives for a discussion around this.

FWIW, I don't know anyone who's replaced an airbag per MB recommendations, nor do I know anyone who's needed a 20 year old airbag to deploy.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

[MonsieurBon]

Originally posted by sixto
You might give some thought to the likelihood that an airbag remains effective when it's 20 years old. Check the archives for a discussion around this.

FWIW, I don't know anyone who's replaced an airbag per MB recommendations, nor do I know anyone who's needed a 20 year old airbag to deploy.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Yeah, after running that lovely little poll (http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=85371) a week ago, I think I might be able to convince my mother that an airbag isn't 100% necessary. Of course, I have no doubt that if I did find one in a car that old, she would pay to have it replaced/updated (yes, even though I am 25 and living on my own).

I would, however, at least like to have ABS. I have yet to find a 1983-1985 300D (NOT SD) with ABS. If my motorcycle had ABS, I wouldn't have gotten in the accident I had. I realize that proper braking procedure can preclude the need for ABS, but in an emergency braking situation, I just don't think I could remember to pulse the brakes.

Thanks!
Aaron

[sixto]

US-spec 300Ds through 1985 did not come with ABS. You might find a Euro spec car with ABS but even those are rare.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

[WANT '71 280SEL]

My brother bought an '84 190D with 350,000 miles a year ago. He now has about 375,000 on it. It needs the usual regulators and the driver's seat is broken in badly. All-in-all it is a great car. He gets about 38 mpg combined and his car starts better than mine which only has 196k on it! It is amazing that is starts when it is so cold outside without even misfiring at all or nailing. I am serious, you don't have to hold the accelerator or wait 45 seconds after the gp light goes out, you just start it after the light goes out and it runs as if it were at operating temp. Simply amazing. If this one doesn't, replace the gp's, my brother's didn't run this nice till last winter when he had the gp's replaced.
Have a nice day
David

[WANT '71 280SEL]

His is a 5 spd.
David

[tradonguy]

I have a '80 240D and I love it but my wife doesn't really like the 4-speed transmission. The 240D has a steel/cast iron cylinder head. Does the 190D in the early '80s have a steel cylinder head as well? If it doesn't, I will look at other 123s or go up to a 126 body style of the early '80s.